Justice Sandil Kissoon yesterday sentenced Jairam Chetram to life in prison and Tameshwar Jagmohan to death, for the Black Bush Polder triple murder in 2016 at Kokerite Savannah, telling them that they “brutally slaughtered” the victims and were unmoved by their horrific actions.
The accused: Jairam Chetram, known as ‘Ryan’, 24; his father, Carlton Chetram, known as ‘Lyma’; Jagmohan, known as ‘Guava’, of Mibicuri South, Black Bush Polder; and Rakesh Karamchand known as ‘Go-To-Front,’ of Sheet Anchor, East Canje Berbice, were charg-ed and committed to stand trial for the murders of Pawan Chandradeo, 38; his son, Jaikarran Chandradeo, 15; and his brother-in-law, Naresh Rooplall, 33; at the Mibicuri Backdam.
At the commencement of the trial at the High Court in Berbice, Jairam Chetram had pleaded guilty to the three counts after which his father, Carlton Chetram, and workman, Karamchand, had also pleaded guilty. The two will return to court on February 17 for sentencing.
Jagmohan, however, opted for a trial and was yesterday found guilty on all three counts of murder.
The three victims had left home to go fishing in the backlands when they encountered the accused stealing diesel from a farmer. So as not to leave any witnesses behind, the men were murdered with a twelve-gauge shotgun which is often used for hunting.
The deceased’s bodies were discovered with their baskets and cast nets around them. Post-mortem examinations revealed that Pawan Chandradeo had sustained gunshot injuries, a laceration to his head resulting in a fractured skull, and that he subsequently died of shock and haemorrhaging. Jaikarran Chandradeo’s cause of death was given as shock and haemorrhaging, laceration of the brain, and gunshot injuries, and Naresh Rooplall, 33, had also died of shock and haemorrhaging and gunshot injuries.
State Prosecutor, Abigail Gibbs, during Jairam Chetram’s plea, had said that the victims left their home to go fishing in the back dam area in Black Bush Polder “not knowing that would have been the last day they ever fished.” According to Gibbs, after arriving in the backlands they first stopped at a koker where they chatted with friends. And at approximately 5 pm, the trio proceeded further to “catch fish.”
She had said that at that time while they were in the backdam, Jairam Chetram also known as ‘Ryan’ and others were also in the backdam. Around 8 pm that night, Jairam Chetram and others left where they were to steal fuel from a farmer (identified), and at that time the accused was armed with a gun.
According to Gibbs, “In his words, he said, ‘When abbe start fa lash the back pon the tank me see two men and a lil boy run coming so we have the gun with eight load, this is daddy gun, and me buss two load in the air and three a them run’ and they stood next to his boat.”
She said Jairam Chetram and others proceeded behind the three victims when they realized that it was Suresh (Pawan Chandradeo), his son (Jaikarran Chandradeo), and another man (Naresh Rooplall – his brother-in-law). She noted that the accused told investigators that he knew Suresh because he used to work with “all awe.”
The court heard that it was decided that “we can’t lef no evidence” and Jairam Chetram told investigators ‘me shoot them one, one, and them fall down pon a dam, and I load back the gun, I go over them head and I shoot them at them head.’
Probation report
Meanwhile, during a presentation of the probation report yesterday, the court heard that Jairam Chetram had admitted to the offences on all three counts, and that “if he says that he is sorry to the relatives of the deceased it would not be accepted.”
According to the report, Indrawattie Rooplall (Jaikarran Chandradeo’s mother) stated that no one should ever have to lose a child in such a heinous manner, noting that her wounds remain fresh as if the incident happened yesterday. Further, the report mentioned that the woman was unable to work for months and remained at home because she was “emotionally distraught and traumatized.”
Further, Rooplall recounted that the way her son looked when she saw him in the hospital, “it was as if he was pleading for his life but his killers hadn’t any mercy.” She asserted that “she wants the law to take its course.”
Rooplall broke down in tears yesterday as her victim impact statement was read in court at the sentencing. In her statement she said she could not believe the men responsible for the death of her three relatives were known to them and that her husband even worked with one (Carlton Chetram).
Further, she remains scared as she resides in the village with the relatives of the accused. “When I remember my family my whole inside does tremble and I does struggle with a nervous breakdown and I does always have to be in the hospital taking treatment,” Prosecutor Gibbs read from the impact statement as she too became emotional.
The statement also disclosed that Rooplall, a security officer, and her daughter, often fall sick due to stress brought on by the events of that fateful night, while her son who was with relatives on the night in question is still traumatised. “The only income I have to sustain me is my job, and my 19-year-old son who dropped out from school is now a security guard too. My husband that died was the breadwinner from the home and because he is not alive anymore my two sons had to drop out from school and the older one is now helping with my finance.”
Sentencing
After he was asked by Justice Kissoon whether he wanted to say anything before sentencing, Jairam Chetram said, “I would like to say sorry to the court, sorry to the deceased family, sorry to my family, sorry to your honour, and the act that I carry out I carry out off my own will Sir.”
In sentencing Jairam Chetram, Justice Kissoon said “This is a horrific and shockingly brutal crime of unspeakable cruelty”.
He pointed out that the accused were engaged in the commission of a felony when they were disrupted by the three innocent fishermen resulting in them unleashing unparalleled violence and death “callously, brutally, and cold-bloodedly.”
He also noted that the three deceased were shot in the head at close range and posited, “The unlawful act of this accused and the others were motivated by their desire to conceal their identity.”
Justice Kissoon then sentenced Jairam to life in prison on each count. “Life, in this case, means life”, Justice Kissoon stressed, adding that the sentence of the court is that the accused must spend the remainder of his years in prison unless the sentence is set aside by the Court of Appeal.
Guilty
Meanwhile, Jagmohan, who had maintained that he was not the man behind the gun, was found guilty on all three counts of murder yesterday by a jury.
At the end of testimony on Tuesday, Jagmohan opted to give an unsworn statement.
After the jury returned with the guilty verdict, Jagmohan declared, “Sir I must say I am innocent over this murder charge.” He added, “Me never supposed to face a murder charge, me supposed to face accessory or something, this is unfair.”
After the verdict, Justice Kissoon decided to sentence Jagmohan immediately. Jagmohan’s lawyer, Surihya Sabsook, in her plea of mitigation noted that her client who was 28 years at the time of the offence, was not armed with the murder weapon which brought about the death of the three men, but that he was in the company of two others.
She underscored that her client is maintaining that he is innocent, and given that, she asked that leniency and mercy be reflected in the sentencing. “His role was not one of the trigger man”.
However, Prosecutor Gibbs responded that it was a gruesome and inhumane murder of three people, adding that two father figures are now absent from their homes which will have a ripple effect not only on the families, but their communities as well.
She pointed out that while the state admits that Jagmohan was not the “trigger man”, a message should be sent to derail the misconception that a person cannot be found guilty for the offence of murder because he or she did not pull the trigger.
She also asked that the court consider the extent of the injuries suffered by the three persons who died. She pointed out, that Jaikarran was just 15 years old when he died.
She added that the man showed no mercy on the three victims, and even at this stage, Jagmohan has shown no remorse for his actions, “This accused is still holding on to the fact that he was not the shooter,” she pointed out.
She told the court that Jagmohan could have withdrawn from the situation if he so intended but instead continued his life as normal selling fish while the three bodies lay in the back dam.
Justice Kissoon then sentenced Jagmohan to death on all three counts, noting that the three men were killed for a mere $25,000, the value of the diesel the perpetrators were stealing which they did not want to be busted for.
